What Lies Beneath, Ditter Kellen

Between twelve hour shifts at the hospital and looking after her eccentric father, she has very little time for much else. Until an unexpected call one night sends her racing to the lab where she discovers a secret that could change the world forever.

Hauke awakens after an underwater explosion, strapped to a bed and on his way to a site known as Area 51.

His only hope for survival lies in Abbie Sutherland, the beautiful doctor that saved his life. Amidst a deadly virus, seemingly impossible to stop, and a corrupt Government placing a price on their heads, Hauke and Abbie run for their lives, uncovering conspiracies, deceptions, and a love that won’t be denied…

Source: NetGalleyPages: 364Date: 2.23.16Rating: 3.8/5

Dear Reader,

You know I love mermaids, aliens and the whole Area 51 conspiracy, so it honestly wasn’t hard to get into this thing. I loved the way Kellen brought together the myths and sci-fi legends and put them into one being. I mean, Demi Lovato thought mermaids were aliens (very cool thought, Demi) so how awesome is it that an author decided to share the wealth and imagination and add a story to it?

Before I get to why the rating’s like a 3.8, let me tell you why I liked it. Hauke’s a gorgeous specimen, Abbigail was pretty sweet, the writing’s suspense and hot scenes were great, the characters were all pretty good with their own stories and emotions, and it made me cry. I think the suspense and ‘what-ifs’ had a lot to play with my worry for some of the people in here, and if a book can make you laugh or cry, I’d say it’s a pretty damn good book to check out.

Now the eh: Hauke and Abbie’s instant love. Sometimes the soul mates thing works for me, but in this case, whether it was the pacing or lack of room for development, I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I could believe it, but I couldn’t get behind it. The romance and foundation of this shit was totally lost to me, like it got skipped over and went for the honeymoon. Another small thing that bothered me about this was their reasons for loving each other. As soul mates (and shit, they say it enough times to allow me to bitch okay?), I feel like they could’ve come up with better excuses to love and die for each other. His reasons about her being so kind and beautiful and brave made me wonder if the females of his race weren’t kind or brave. I really needed to see what made her so special to convince me of their instant lovefest. The same went with her. It’s obvious he’s a major hottie, but his morality and dedication towards her was great. But like… I don’t know, same with the hubby, I just didn’t hear her legit reasons for wanting to die for him.

I won’t go on any further, but my main concerns with this book was their romance (which is like half- if not more -of the freaking book) and the little things that didn’t really scream ‘logical’ either because it didn’t make sense, or the story got lost in translation. Like one minute he’s concerned about her getting hurt in the deep ocean’s pressure, but then special diving suits are okay? I was under the impression it was too deep for humans, regardless. So does this mean he just doesn’t know what humans are capable of, or is this an actual ‘oops’? Because if groups like him and his sister are coming out and the divers can swim in their area, how have they not been caught? I don’t know, man… Just those things took me out of the story, and it happened quite a lot, so of course I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I could have.

The world build up on Hauke’s race was pretty great and exciting enough to make me want to read more. The suspense and disgust for the trolls of mankind certainly nailed their parts in this, and aside from the things I just complained about, I’d say check it out.

#FILIPINOFRIDAY

Totally check out The Reading Belles for book reviews on romance novels. -
The following covers are books I've read with @readbyher's #FilipinoFriday for the RomanceClass catalog: independently published books from Filipino romance authors. Other covers I've collected through gifted copies and personal purchases. (Some may not all be on catalog)